The present invention relates generally to oilfield operations, and more particularly, to methods and systems for integral storage and blending of the materials used in oilfield operations.
Oilfield operations are conducted in a variety of different locations and involve a number of equipments, depending on the operations at hand. The requisite materials for the different operations are often hauled to and stored at the well site where the operations are to be performed.
Considering the number of equipments necessary for performing oilfield operations and ground conditions at different oilfield locations, space availability is often a constraint. For instance, in well treatment operations such as fracturing operations, several wells may be serviced from a common jobsite pad. In such operations, the necessary equipment is not moved from well site to well site. Instead, the equipment may be located at a central work pad and the required treating fluids may be pumped to the different well sites from this central location. Accordingly, the bulk of materials required at a centralized work pad may be enormous, further limiting space availability.
Typically, in modem well treatment operations, equipment is mounted on a truck or a trailer and brought to location and set up. The storage units used are filled with the material required to prepare the well treatment fluid and perform the well treatment. In order to prepare the well treatment fluid, the material used is then transferred from the storage units to one or more blenders to prepare the desired well treatment fluid which may then be pumped down hole.
For instance, in conventional fracturing operations a blender and a pre-gel blender are set between the high pressure pumping units and the storage units which contain the dry materials and chemicals used. The dry materials and the chemicals used in the fracturing operations are then transferred, often over a long distance, from the storage units to the mixing and blending equipments. Once the treating process is initiated, the solid materials and chemicals are typically conveyed to the blender by a combination of conveyer belts, screw type conveyers and a series of hoses and pumps.
The equipment used for transferring the dry materials and chemicals from the storage units to the blender occupy valuable space at the job site. Additionally, the transfer of dry materials and chemicals to the blender consumes a significant amount of energy as well as other system resources and contributes to the carbon foot print of the job site. Moreover, in typical “on land” operations the entire equipment spread including the high horsepower pumping units are powered by diesel fired engines and the bulk material metering, conveying and pumping is done with diesel fired hydraulic systems. Emissions from the equipment that is powered by diesel fuel contributes to the overall carbon footprint and adversely affects the environment.
While embodiments of this disclosure have been depicted and described and are defined by reference to example embodiments of the disclosure, such references do not imply a limitation on the disclosure, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modification, alteration, and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those skilled in the pertinent art and having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described embodiments of this disclosure are examples only, and not exhaustive of the scope of the disclosure.